Pensionfund Sabic Trims Stock Position in Alphabet Inc. $GOOG

Key Points

• Pensionfund Sabic reduced its stake in Alphabet Inc. by 15.9%, selling 4,000 shares during the first quarter, and now holds 21,100 shares valued at approximately $3.3 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Principia Wealth Advisory and Greykasell Wealth Strategies, increased their positions in Alphabet, with Principia Wealth Advisory's stake rising by 111.8%.
• Alphabet declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, which will be paid on September 15th, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.3%.

Pensionfund Sabic lowered its holdings in shares of Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,100 shares of the information services provider's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Alphabet makes up approximately 1.0% of Pensionfund Sabic's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Pensionfund Sabic's holdings in Alphabet were worth $3,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GOOG. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Alphabet by 111.8% in the 1st quarter. Principia Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 161 shares of the information services provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Elevate Wealth Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Alphabet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 27.26% of the company's stock.

Alphabet Trading Up 0.2%

GOOG stock opened at $241.38 on Friday. Alphabet Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.66 and a 1-year high of $242.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.83.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.19. Alphabet had a return on equity of 34.31% and a net margin of 31.12%.The business had revenue of $96.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Alphabet Inc. will post 8.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 8th. Alphabet's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GOOG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $200.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Alphabet from $232.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $270.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Alphabet in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $227.56.

Insider Transactions at Alphabet

In other news, insider John Kent Walker sold 23,820 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.70, for a total transaction of $4,637,754.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,371,905.30. This represents a 35.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John L. Hennessy sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,383,200. This represents a 12.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 254,710 shares of company stock valued at $49,208,380 over the last quarter. 12.99% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.

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